Life has thrown me a few curve balls lately and I find myself in a position where I am relying on the goodness of others to help me with day-to-day living. I am confident that my situation will change because I live in the greatest country on earth.
I volunteer whenever I can for the Polk County Republicans and because I believe that by giving, the world provides you a wealth of opportunities. I also am a ONE volunteer because all I have to give at this point is my voice and my time.
Senator Rick Santorum was in Cedar Rapids, Iowa on Tuesday night as the keynote to the Linn County Republicans at the Iowa GOP’s Chairman’s Speaker Series.
Joni Scotter, ONE volunteer and long time Republican activist from Cedar Rapids, thanked Senator Santorum for his work with the Global Fund and let him know that because of his hard work while in the Senate, the fund is continuing to save lives.
Joni gave him a ONE pin that she pinned on his lapel. Senator Santorum wore it through out the evening, during his interviews with the media and during his presentation.
The 2012 presidential campaign is heating up in Iowa.
Last weekend, presidential aspirant Newt Gingrich spoke to a group of more than 500 Iowa conservatives at the first-ever Conservative Principles Conference in Des Moines, Iowa. After his rousing speech, Mr. Gingrich made his way through the lobby where I had a chance to talk with him about Malawi and the Feed the Future initiative that Michael Gerson wrote about in the Washington Post.
I’m Juliann Vanliew, a ONE volunteer at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. What a great night Monday night as I had the chance to meet Governor Huckabee while he was in West Des Moines on the last leg of his book tour.
There were more than 200 people in line, moms, dads, students and grandparents all waiting to talk with the Governor, but I was excited to be there to talk with him about ONE and the world’s poorest people. When I finally got to meet him I told him I was a ONE volunteer and thanked him for always making time for ONE – especially on the campaign trail and on the trip he took to Rwanda to see first hand where US efforts are helping to save millions of lives. I gave him a few articles written by ONE Fellow Michael Gerson, he said he had already received it earlier in the day, he thanked me for the articles, and all that ONE does.
Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty is traveling around the country on his new book tour for “Courage to Stand,” which included a couple stops in Iowa during the weekend. I got a chance to talk to him this morning while he was signing books in West Des Moines. I thanked Gov. Pawlenty for his ongoing support of ONE as he said he sees ONE members everywhere.
We talked about the great work of President Bush leading the battle on fighting HIV/AIDS in the developing world with PEPFAR. I told him how proud I was as an American to go to Malawi last year and see firsthand successful US supported programs saving lives and making the world a little safer for us all. As a mother, it was especially powerful to see the significant role vaccines can make in the lives of children if they are affordable and accessible. Finally we got to talk briefly about Michael Gerson’s recent article in the Washington Post about the power of vaccines.
I thanked him for taking the time and he thanked me for “standing strong and for all the great service to others” as he wrote in a copy of his book.
Last Friday, ONE got the chance to be a local cosponsor of Winter Jam, Christian music’s largest annual tour. With Wells Fargo Arena in Des Moines at near full capacity, the energy of the crowd for the 10-band lineup was immediate. We had an amazing team of staff and volunteers and got right to work talking to concert-goers about ONE.
I just got a quick report from ONE member Brian Newswander from Huxley, Iowa today who told me this:
“I caught up with former Speaker Newt Gingrich Tuesday at the Iowa Renewable Fuels Summit in Des Moines, Iowa. I had the chance to talk to him about the Global Vaccines project ONE is working on. Newt is very familiar with ONE and has seen ONE members all across America.
I shared with him the op-ed written by Michael Gerson from the Washington Post that talks about GAVI and how US efforts can help save millions of lives through safe and effective vaccines. He was glad to hear that we were interested in vaccines and said he would take a look at the piece. I also thanked the Speaker for always making time for ONE and the world’s poorest people.”
ONE is campaigning to ensure that the Congressional budget does not cut foreign assistance programs like Feed the Future that help people break the cycle of poverty and hunger.
The Horn of Africa is experiencing its worst drought in 60 years. More than 11 million people, mostly nomadic pastoralists and farmers in south-central Somalia, north-eastern Kenya, and south-eastern Ethiopia, are severely lacking access to food.
2011 marks 30 years since the first cases of AIDS were documented. Take a closer look at the specific, achievable goals we must hit by 2015 to make this year the beginning of the end of AIDS.
As aid agencies warn more than 9 million people could be affected by a food crisis in East Africa, world leaders are failing to keep their 2009 promises to tackle the causes of chronic hunger and support farmers in the world's poorest countries.
